Today is Tuesday, April 26, 2022. I’ve been away from this platform since last Wednesday to attend a film festival in Los Angeles which just ended Sunday night, April 25. I returned home sometime last evening – about 7:45 p.m. – and was too discombobulated to return to these pages.

But I’m here now. I’ve been in a news blackout since last Wednesday since I concentrated on attending my TCM Film Festival without getting violently sick over the unceasing bad headlines emanating from the television screen or in newspapers. I was on a news vacation for five days then. I also couldn’t even find a newspaper anywhere on Hollywood Boulevard where most of the festival went on. The majority of events took place at the historic Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, El Capitan Theater, TCL Chinese Theater IMAX (which originally was Grauman’s Chinese Theater back in its heyday), and other TCL Chinese Theater complexes, plus the one located on North Highland Avenue called the Hollywood Legion Theater at Post 43, right across the street from my boutique hotel, the Blvd. Hotel. The hotel was located about 15 minutes away from all of the action, so I would get up early to see the first event scheduled at 9 a.m., and thus my day would begin. I would walk toward Hollywood Boulevard and either enter one of the Chinese Theater complexes or walk into the Roosevelt Hotel to attend a screening of some film. I enjoyed seeing interviews with the stars such as Bruce Dern, Piper Laurie, and Richard Benjamin. I almost forgot: I even saw Warren Beatty being interviewed by Ben Mankiewicz after the screening of Beatty’s 1978 film Heaven Can Wait. I tried to get a pic of the legendary star, but it didn’t come out too well; I was sitting too far up in the nosebleed section of the theater.

As for what’s lighting up the news boards these days, today’s explosive revelations concerning audio of House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy obtained and reported on by The New York Times in which he privately expressed concern about the effects of far-right House Repugnicans inciting violence against other lawmakers in the aftermath of January 6, 2021, is causing quite an uproar.

In the audio, the California coward repeatedly lamented the inflammatory comments made by some GOP lawmakers following the U.S. Capitol siege, which is a far different posture than the one he’s taken since the attack in which he has downplayed Republicans’ role in the insurrection. This story is covered in an online CNN article by Paul LeBlanc entitled “New York Times: Audio reveals McCarthy worried GOP lawmakers’ rhetoric would incite violence after Jan. 6.”

This audio segment took place on January 10, 2021, two days after the insurrection, in which McCarthy urged repugnician leaders on a private call to monitor the public statements of fringe and lunatic lawmakers, such as Reps. Mo Brooks of Alabama and Matt Gaetz of Florida (who is still being investigated in a potential pedophilia case), and alert him of any potentially dangerous messages.

McCarthy is heard saying on this audio that was obtained by two Times reporters for their upcoming book, This Will Not Pass: Trump, Biden and the Battle for America’s Future, “The country is too crazy. I do not want to look back and think we caused something or we missed something and someone got hurt. I don’t want to play politics with any of that.”

What McCarthy was specifically taking issue with is a television interview that Matt Gaetz gave attacking Republican Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming and other repugnicians who criticized former president Dumpf. McCarthy says, “He’s putting people into jeopardy,” referring to the Grinch-like Gaetz who was being incendiary just like his distaff colleague Marjorie Taylor Greene who has said even more inflammatory comments insulting everyone from Jews to even the President himself. In referring to Gaetz, McCarthy states, “And he doesn’t need to be doing this. We saw what people would do in the Capitol, you know, and these people came prepared with rope, with everything else.”

Another person whom McCarthy was addressing in his comments about the insurrection was House Minority Whip Steve Scalise who even called Gaetz’s conduct “potentially illegal.” To underscore how these authoritarian lawmakers have now taken a different tack after expressing some real truth just two days after the attack on the Capitol is Scalise’s deflection of the questions about the paper’s printing of the audio of the House leader’s statements, where he instead went on to blast the “liberal media” for reporting on the insurrection as if this were just a “liberal” concern, not an American, concern. Scalise went on to cast shade on Biden’s own crises like inflation, gas prices, and immigration. Gaetz conveniently told CNN that he has not seen the Times story.

The looney Brooks, in response to the report, told CNN that “Kevin McCarty spoke before knowing the facts,” in a statement. What fucking facts is this demented guy talking about? That repugnicans under Dumpf didn’t intend to overturn a legitimate election! That five people needlessly died, with over 140 people being injured, because of the actions of the far right – that these repugnicans kowtow to all the time now.

In a related story is McCarthy’s supposedly discussing that the president should resign after those terrible events of January 6 and now has denied he’s ever said that, even with the appearance of this damning audio clip with his voice on it. What should people think of this wishy-washy, gelatinous simp? He has no control over his henchman like Matt Gaetz and MTG! This evidence should really make people pause before he ever gets the opportunity to seize the leadership of the House caucus after November. This would be a terrible mistake, as most of us know already.

Today when repugnicans tell lies so openly, it appears that it doesn’t faze them at all. They balk about being exposed as liars and then they just deflect and deny they ever said such things, even though there is hard evidence to the contrary. This used to be disgusting behavior on the part of lawmakers, but now it seems such actions barely furrow a repugnican brow. When will any of this evidence put repugnicans in real hot water? I just can’t believe this will be just ignored like everything else!

So I just heard on the Rachel Maddow show tonight that the January 6 committee is now thinking of issuing another invitation to McCarthy to have him testify before the panel in light of those new audiotapes. I seriously doubt that McCarthy would voluntarily agree to sit before the committee, so what’s a next step here? Can you imprison a sitting lawmaker for not complying with a nonmandated request to offer testimony before it?

Another story raising some eyebrows is the news that a Manhattan judge is now holding former president Dumpf in civil contempt yesterday for “repeated delays and failures” to comply with New York Attorney General (AG) Letitia James’ fraud investigation. The article appears in today’s edition of the Daily News written by Molly Crane-Newman entitled “Fork It Over, Don: Contempt @$10K a day for refusing Tish demands.”

The judge in rendering his bold decision, Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron, said, “Mr. Trump, I know you take your business seriously, and I take mine seriously. I hereby hold you in civil contempt and fine you $10,000 a day.” He was addressing the absent defendant in court while rendering his decision.

The judge ruled against the former insurrectionist for flouting a court-ordered March 31 deadline to turn over paperwork. The fines will continue until Engoron decides Dumpf fully complies with James’ demands for documents.

“The AG says she has evidence Trump’s family company engaged in ‘fraudulent and misleading’ business practices by manipulating the value of its properties for financial gain, whether by inflating values to secure loans and insurance coverage or deflating them to reduce taxes.” The article says finally that this long-overdue investigation is winding down its almost three-year inquiry into Dumpf’s business practices.

In a statement, James gloated, “Today, justice prevailed.” She added, “For years, Donald Trump has tried to evade the law and stop our lawful investigation into him and his company’s financial dealings. Today’s ruling makes clear: No one is above the law.”

Of course, the response from the Dumpf camp was to have Dumpf’s lawyer, Alina Habba, state that immediate steps would be taken to get the contempt order revoked. However, Assistant Attorney General Andrew Amer commented, “We are being deprived of evidence. He added, “We are being hampered in our efforts to have a complete understanding because we don’t have evidence from the person who sits at the top of [the] organization.”

Straining credulity, Habba insisted that the former demagogue has handed over everything he had and makes the absurd claim that Dumpf does not email, does not do text messages, and has no work computer at home or anywhere else!!!! No wonder this guy’s head is in the long-ago past! Could anyone believe this assertion from his lawyer?

Habba makes a cringe-worthy, risible comment here when she says in a nonironic tone, “My client is a honest person, much to the dismay of certain people in this room.” Is she for real here?

One of those properties that Dumpf has allegedly lied about is his own triplex penthouse in Trump Tower. Here he claimed in 2015 that the apartment was 30,000 square feet and worth $327 million, according to court papers. James maintains that this determination overestimates its value by about $200 million – and that it’s closer to 10,966 feet. What a sizable discrepancy, wouldn’t you say? The AG claims that the former insurrectionist, his company, and his adult children were “closely involved” in the valuations her office is investigating.

So there we have little crumbs thrown our way here in terms of some accountability dropped into the wide lap of the former dictator-to-be, but, according to Dumpf’s own niece, Mary Trump, the only accountability that is sorely needed is an indictment of her criminal uncle and nothing else. She made these comments on MSNBC last night during Lawrence O’Donnell’s show. We should heed her words without further ado. Mary Trump criticized the fact that her uncle is still giving interviews to such ratings-hungry anchors as Piers Morgan; he shouldn’t be doing this, she claimed. What should happen is that he must be indicted, she said. She also said of her uncle: “He is a black hole of need.” Why don’t we just say, finally, that he’s just a gargantuan ass-hole!

It’s getting late here.

Hope to see you tomorrow.

Stay safe and be well.